Written from the back room

Absolute Trivia is an independent publication about the craft of the quiz question. Everything here is written from the setter's side of the table: how a question is drafted, how it is sourced and checked, how difficulty is calibrated against a room, and how the finished thing is bought and used.

The house rule is simple. A question with two defensible answers is a broken question, however interesting the fact inside it is. Most of what follows is a consequence of that rule.

What this is not

It is not a quiz site. There are no quizzes to play here, no question bank, no answer keys, no scores and no leagues. Questions appear only as illustrations of a point about wording or verification, never as a set to run.

How it is organised

Five sections: The Question on wording and precision, Sourcing on verification, The Room on difficulty and scoring, Formats on how quizzes are shaped, and The Trade on the economics of the work. Every guide is listed on the all guides page.

Real shows, formats and working practices are described factually. Where a question is quoted, it is an illustration written for this site.